Claflin Wraps up Baseball Season on the Road

Orangeburg, SC - The Claflin University Panthers will head into the final stretch of their 2021 baseball season with back-to-back Peach Belt Conference (PBC) series on the road.

First up for Claflin is a three-game series against Augusta University starting Friday (Apr. 16) with a single game at 2:30 p.m. The series concludes on Saturday (Apr. 17) with a doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m. All games will be played at Jaguar Field.

The Panthers will end the season at Flagler College (Apr. 19-20) with three games at Drysdale Field.

Claflin will enter the matchup at Augusta with a 3-23 record and the same mark in conference play after nearly a two-week layoff. Augusta is 5-22 overall and 4-21 in league play.

The Panthers last saw action on the baseball diamond against USC Aiken at home. Claflin dropped the series at 2-1. The Panthers had 16 hits in the series, eight coming in game two of a 6-5 win.

Da'Avion Sumpter saw his five-game hitting streak ended in the series. During the streak, Sumpter batted .333 (7-for-21). For the season, Sumpter is tied for second on the team in batting at .269 with Quinten Kinard. Sumpter has collected 25 hits, six doubles, and driven in 13 runs.

Joyner is batting a team-high .271 with 26 hits and 15 runs scored.

Keyon Smith is the top home run hitter for the Panthers with three and 11 RBIs.

Mackenze Gay, Nicholas Johnson, and Jordan McCray have contributed two home runs each.

As a team, the Claflin offense has smacked 13 homers, generated 86 runs and 176 hits in 26 games.

The Panthers batters will face a Jaguar pitching staff that's given up 31 home runs, 255 runs, and 324 hits this season. Chase Horton leads the staff with a 3-1 record, while Brian Trepanier and Will Cantell have recorded 28 and 27 strikeouts, respectively.

On the other side of the mound, the Claflin pitching staff will try to hold down an Augusta offense that's hitting .230 with 23 home runs. The Jaguars have struck out 219 times this season and scored 113 runs.

The strong suit for Claflin recently has been the bullpen in Christian Carr and Talmon Hubbard.

In the 6-5 win over USC Aiken, Carr relieved Charles Jackson and pitched the final 6.1 innings. He allowed just one run and four hits in picking up the win. For the season, Carr is 1-0 with a .324 ERA.

Hubbard preserved the Panthers' 4-3 win over Columbus State University. Hubbard picked up the save, allowing one hit over the last 4.1 innings, and retired 13 of 14 batters he faced. Hubbard has appeared in nine games this season for Claflin and leads the team in strikeouts with 27 in 26.2 innings. Jackson is close behind Hubbard in strikeouts for the Panthers with 26.

Ben Markiewicz is the most dangerous hitter for Augusta with a .340 batting average, seven home runs, and 24 RBIs. Skylor Murphy and Mason Robertson have belted four home runs each for Augusta.

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Players Mentioned

#13 Talmon "T.J." Hubbard: UTIL; 6' 2"; Senior; R/R

#8 Charles Jackson: UTIL; 6' 0"; Sophomore; S/R

#33 Nicholas Johnson: INF; 5' 11"; Senior; R/R

#28 Jordan McCray: C; 5' 9"; Senior; R/R

#14 Christian Carr: UTIL; 5' 10"; Sophomore; R/R

#21 Keyon Smith: OF/1B; 6' 2"; Senior; L/L

#22 Quinten Kinard: 2B; 5' 9"; Junior; R/R

#32 Da'Avion Sumpter: INF; 6' 0"; Sophomore

#34 Mackenze Gay: 1B/P; 6' 4"; Redshirt Sophomore; L/L

Players Mentioned

#13 Talmon "T.J." Hubbard
: 6' 2"; Senior; R/R
: UTIL

#8 Charles Jackson
: 6' 0"; Sophomore; S/R
: UTIL

#33 Nicholas Johnson
: 5' 11"; Senior; R/R
: INF

#28 Jordan McCray
: 5' 9"; Senior; R/R
: C

#14 Christian Carr
: 5' 10"; Sophomore; R/R
: UTIL

#21 Keyon Smith
: 6' 2"; Senior; L/L
: OF/1B

#22 Quinten Kinard
: 5' 9"; Junior; R/R
: 2B

#32 Da'Avion Sumpter
: 6' 0"; Sophomore
: INF

#34 Mackenze Gay
: 6' 4"; Redshirt Sophomore; L/L
: 1B/P